Bronze casting: Brass heads, free-standing figures and groups, plaques in relief, bells and rattle-staggs, small expressive masks and plaquettes, chests in the shape of palaces, animals, cult stands, jewelry all cast by Benin metal workers. Trade brought copper and brass into the kingdom.
Culture
Benin was a collection of farms enclosed by walls and a ditch. Each clan was subject to the oba. The oba employed guild of artisan who all lived in the same district of the city. The created bronze figures were kept in the palace. The official languange is Edo.
Religion
The Oba, using bells and rattle to call ancestor’s spirite, offered sacrifices to an altar that served as a tribute to the deceased. It was a pagan religion, using rituals and sacrifices to the deceased and the earth.
Blog
Blog Entry 1:
The city of Benin was beautiful. It was very organized becuase there was a system of huge straight streets. These streets were very wide, very long, and well maintained although they were not paved. You could travel on foot in a straight line for 15 or 20 minutes and not see the end of the street. Other streets opened from the main streets. They were also wide. Houses were built in rows along all of the streets. On the street front side, houses had covered porches to keep people dry as they sat outside. The Dutch and Portuguese traders who came to Benin by sea were not invited into the nobles' or artists homes.
Blog Entry 2:
It was another night of storytelling. Who needs school when the whole village can gather together and listen to the storytellers. The children did not need to worry about school since the parents home schooled them. And children can be accepted to practice a specific trade. The village elders always partake their wisdom and proverbs to keep the children on their best behavior.
Blog Entry 3:
I saw the king the other day. He always wore ceremonial robes to the annual festivals given in honor of various gods and goddesses. He always carried a sword, which was a symbol of his authority. There were many festivals. The people stopped working every month for several days to attend a festival. They believed work had to be balanced with play for a healthy life. Even if they might be in the middle of a most important trade, things came to a halt when it was festival time, no matter how important the trade was.
Benin Kingdom 900AD
Map of Benin
Friends
Technology
Culture
Religion
Blog
The city of Benin was beautiful. It was very organized becuase there was a system of huge straight streets. These streets were very wide, very long, and well maintained although they were not paved. You could travel on foot in a straight line for 15 or 20 minutes and not see the end of the street. Other streets opened from the main streets. They were also wide. Houses were built in rows along all of the streets. On the street front side, houses had covered porches to keep people dry as they sat outside. The Dutch and Portuguese traders who came to Benin by sea were not invited into the nobles' or artists homes.
Blog Entry 2:
It was another night of storytelling. Who needs school when the whole village can gather together and listen to the storytellers. The children did not need to worry about school since the parents home schooled them. And children can be accepted to practice a specific trade. The village elders always partake their wisdom and proverbs to keep the children on their best behavior.
Blog Entry 3:
I saw the king the other day. He always wore ceremonial robes to the annual festivals given in honor of various gods and goddesses. He always carried a sword, which was a symbol of his authority. There were many festivals. The people stopped working every month for several days to attend a festival. They believed work had to be balanced with play for a healthy life. Even if they might be in the middle of a most important trade, things came to a halt when it was festival time, no matter how important the trade was.
The Wall
The Forest Kingdom of Benin. MrDonn. <http://africa.mrdonn.org/benin.html>.
Benin Kingdom. March 07, 1999 Art & Life in Africa. <http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/history/giblinstate.html>.